The Foundation’s work with youth organisations on peace and reconciliation commences
The Max Planck Foundation held a kick-off workshop with numerous NGOs from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 08 to 10 September in the context of the new project in the country. The participating NGOs came from all over the country, including Brcko, Banja Luka, Mostar, Tuzla, and Goražde.
The workshop focused on experiences with reconciliation and the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most participants were members of various youth organisations, such as the Youth Press Association. During the workshop, they shared their experiences and also their visions for a more inclusive and sustainable future. They talked, for example, about the so-called “Eight Pillars of Peace” and brainstormed which contributions local NGOs could make to establish them permanently. Questions that the participants tried to answer were, for example: are traditional project initiatives the only way of operating? Must peace work be “(r)evolutionised“? Are there ways to break up individual isolation and to draw wider circles?
After this promising start, the project aims to create a strategic platform for NGOs to work together towards common goals in the context of peace and reconciliation. The project entitled “Strategic Approach to Future and Youth-Oriented Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina” is generously supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.